CAEE AND MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 727 



The effect of liberal feeding may be seen in a two-year- 

 old thoroughbred, which from its appearance might be 

 taken for a four-year-old. Liberal feeding tends to bone 

 and growth; wherever the nature of the country is such 

 that feeding is scanty, or pastures bare for long periods in 

 the year, in such places horses run small. 



By good feeding horses could be brought into light work 

 at an earlier age than is at present the case. Early 

 maturity is now being looked for everywhere among animals, 

 times move too quickly for the older process of slow de- 

 velopment. Development is hastened by liberal feeding ; in 

 the case of sheep and cattle intended for the butcher, their 

 value is in the pockets of their owners a year or eighteen 

 months earlier than was the case a few years ago. 



Whether forcing the maturity of the horse in order that 

 he might be brought into work at say 2|- years instead of 

 3i would be an advantage we are not at present prepared 

 to admit, unless in the case of the man who understands 

 he has bought a young horse and treats it accordingly. 

 Such people are the exception. A man as a rule buys a 

 horse to work ; young or old makes little difference to the 

 average individual so long as his work is performed. If it 

 were pointed out that the horse should work only every 

 other day, and then only short journeys and light loads, 

 the response would be that it was not the class of animal 

 the proposed owner was looking for. 



We doubt the advisability of working horses too young, 

 even though they have been liberally fed since birth, and 

 the short artificial life led by the race-horse is no argument 

 in favour of this practice. With animals which have been 

 stinted in their diet it is entirely out of the question. 



Pasturing. — The half-bred foal is weaned before the 

 winter arrives, separated from the dam, and after a day or 

 so of separation the mother and foal have equally forgotten 

 to think of the matter. The foals should spend their 

 winter outside with a simple form of shelter from the 

 weather, but more particularly from the wind. It is not 

 the rain, snow or frost which kills a well-fed animal, nor 



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